Posted on 03/27/2009 3:06:44 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
American officials say ties between Shiite organization, Mexican drug lords for trafficking of drugs, money, people into US strengthening over recent year. One official voice concern that al-Qaeda may use same routes.
Ties between Lebanon's Shiite Hizbullah organization and Mexican drug cartels have been strengthening over the past few years, the Washington Times reported Friday.
Hizbullah relies on "the same criminal weapons smugglers, document traffickers and transportation experts as the drug cartels," said Michael Braun, former administrator and chief of operations at the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
"They work together," added Braun, "They rely on the same shadow facilitators. One way or another, they are all connected. They'll leverage those relationships to their benefit, to smuggle contraband and humans into the US; in fact, they already are (smuggling)."
A number of American security officials, counterterrorism experts and drug trade law enforcement officials agreed with Braun's comments and said Hizbullah's use of the Mexican drug routes continued to increase with time.
The routes in question start in South America's tri-border region of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil and continue to smuggling routes above and below the US-Mexico Border. Hizbullah is also suspected of operating similar routes through Venezuela and Columbia.
To finance its operations, Hizbullah relies in part on funding from a large Lebanese Shiite Muslim diaspora that stretches from the Middle East to Africa and Latin America. Some of the funding comes from criminal enterprises.
'Mexican cartels loyal to no one' There have been no confirmed cases of Hizbullah moving terrorists across the Mexico border to carry out attacks in the United States, but it is believed that members and supporters of the group have entered the US in this way in the past.
Last year, Salim Boughader Mucharrafille was sentenced to 60 years in prison on charges of organized crime and immigrant smuggling. Mucharrafille, a Mexican of Lebanese descent was arrested in 2002 for smuggling 200 people, said to include Hizbullah supporters, into the US.
Mahmoud Youssef Kourani was convicted by an American court of providing "material support and resources ... to Hizbullah" in 2003 after crossing the border two years earlier.
"The Mexican cartels have no loyalty to anyone," a US law enforcement official told The Washington Times. "They will willingly or unknowingly aid other nefarious groups into the US through the routes they control. It has already happened. That's why the border is such a serious national security issue."
Another US counterterrorism official confirmed that the US is keeping a close eye on the links between Hizbullah and drug cartels and said it is "not a good picture." A senior US defense official warned that al-Qaeda could also make use of the trafficking routes to infiltrate operatives into the US.
And our borders are still open
Can’t be true. Hillary said that the border war is not a threat to our national security.
American authorities have never cared about the welfare of native American citizens.
Instead, they have treasonously abetted criminals and terrorists.
FReepers have known this for years. [Opinion withheld so poster will not be thrown out].
Teaching the fine art of Islamic beheadings...
They join at the hip, islam and liberation theology, because they all want totalitarian rule first, then they'll fight each other for whatever's left of the population.
Ping.
Lots of flights going back and forth between Islamistan and Mexico and all of South Amiristan.
But what is the big deal???
US Immigration Services allow thousands of Islamics in every year legally to United Amiristan.
Thank-you Diogenesis....
May God have mercy, we're going to need it.
This is eventually going to lead to a shooting war between US troops and SOME entity south of the border,
Bttt
Who saw this coming?...Ping!
Hannity had a Ms. Carter, I believe, on just a few minutes ago talking about this very same thing. It’s an eye opener but will the president and his cronies open their eyes? No, I think they’re looking the other way. Shame on them for allowing America to be infiltrated this way. No president has guarded our borders.
YES. There are hundreds of people being beheaded now in Mexico. You never heard of that before.
Thanks for nothing, you treasonous bastard. |
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fyi
Thanks for the ping; post and thanks to every poster. BTTT!
Good info, thanks!
Well as long as we can get people to come over willing to make next to nothing, who are we to complain? /S
Hillary said it’s America’s fault.
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